The Indiana General Assembly and Gov. Mike Pence gave a lesson in U.S. history and politics after passing into law an ill-considered “Religious Freedom” bill last week.

Pence and Republican legislators apparently thought the religious freedom law would be a feather in their caps, endearing them to the far right Republican base and assuring continued election success.

Instead they found themselves in the middle of a public relations firestorm that rapidly was blowing back on them and probably eliminating Pence from any future serious presidential consideration.